Our "Engagement Party"

After we got engaged, it was time to plan our civil ceremony, or our "Engagement Party" as we liked to refer to it. We had to get legally married to begin the immigration process, which we wanted to start ASAP. It was really important to us (or rather me) that we had a big and beautiful Catholic wedding, and it was just not possible to plan the type of wedding that I (we) wanted in a short amount of time. So, we decided to have a civil ceremony first, and than the wedding of my dreams at a later date. Also, we wanted to make sure that our first days and weeks as newlyweds were spent together, which would not have been possible if we didn't have a civil marriage first. So we got to planning!

***On a side note, when we had our civil ceremony in September of 2008, it seemed like we were the only couple on earth doing this! Now it seems to be happening all the time (see Miss Dachshund, Miss Poodle, and Miss Moonbeam ). You might even say that it's becoming a new wedding trend...I am glad to have jumped on the bandwagon!***

Mr. Pudding and I decided that we wanted to have our immediate family present, because even though we did not consider this to be "the real thing", we thought that it was a significant and important step. It was important to me that this day be special, but I did not want it to overshadow the actual wedding day. Mr. P's family traveled from Vermont for the weekend, and we hired an officiant to come to Mama Pudding's house and perform the ceremony.

We did the ceremony in my mom's living room. It was simple and lovely. I wore a cream shift dress with gold detailing and gold heels that were way too high. Mr. Pudding wore a suit that I purchased for him as an engagement present, and a gold tie to match my outfit! The whole colour scheme of the event was shades of creams, golds, and browns.


Our officiant was amazing. He had a wonderful presence, and the ceremony he performed was just beautiful. Before the ceremony, I kept saying that this was like the marriage equivalent of doing my taxes. But during it, I couldn't keep the tears at bay! I can't remember quite what he said, but I know it was very touching.

This is our wedding party. My sister and brother, and Mr. P's sister and brother. The girls even accidentally coordinated in chocolate brown dresses! I made my bouquet out of three orange calla lilies, and wrapped the stems in a gold ribbon.

After the ceremony, we had toasts. Mr. P is not a man of many words, but his toast was perfect: "To the first of the many beautiful steps that we are about to take together". You can see Mama Pudding smiling at us in the background.

We sat down to a beautiful dinner together; Mama Pudding really outdid herself! This was also a great time for our families to get to know one another better.

And what would a non-wedding be without cake! I think our mutual love for anything sweet is clear in our expressions.

All in all, our "Engagement Party" was fabulous. A word to all of you fortunate enough to be having a small wedding, but worried that you won't get that big bridal feeling: as long as you are surrounded by the ones you love, and the man that you are committing to is your soul mate, it will be the most beautiful day of your life.

Did you have a civil ceremony before the "official" wedding?

* All pictures taken by FFIL Pudding